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26th Sunday |
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Dear Preachers:
There is plenty of room in our readings from Ezekiel and Matthew. Room for what? Spacious room to change.
In Ezekiel, God challenges the complaint that God is unfair. The prophet points out that there is plenty of room in God’s heart for the person who turns away from wrongdoing and begins to live rightly. That person, God says, “...shall preserve their life; they will surely live, they shall not die.”
Similarly, in today’s passage from Matthew’s Gospel, the first son refuses his father’s command: “Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.” He says, “No,” but later changes his mind and goes. The father then approaches the second son and gives him the same command. The son says, “Yes, sir,” but does not go.
Jesus shifts our attention from words to actions. One son said “No,” but eventually followed his father’s wishes and went to work. The other said “Yes,” but did not.
For our Christian community, the readings from Ezekiel and Matthew call us to shift our attention from words to actions. This is an important examination for us. When we gather, we say and do the right things: we profess our faith, attend worship, and speak about the values of compassion and justice. But the Gospel asks whether our lives and our community actually embody what we profess.
We are invited to examine our “Yes.” Is it possible to say the approved prayers, come to Mass, belong to parish groups, and speak about faith, yet fail to do the works of the Gospel?
On the other hand, someone whose faith has been weak, or whose path has been troubled, can turn around and begin to live a Gospel life with sincerity. God leaves the door open for conversion.
The parish, therefore, should not become a community that labels people according to their past. We are called to be a community where people can change, begin again, and discover that God’s mercy is always calling us forward.
The question is not simply, “Have I said ‘yes’ to God?” It is, “Where is my ‘yes’ taking shape in the way I live?”
The connection between Ezekiel and Matthew becomes especially clear when we see that both readings are about conversion: turning our lives around and putting our faith into action.
Jesus is challenging our community. Are we merely saying “Yes” to God, or are we actually going into the vineyard? This suggests a reflection for our Eucharist today. We need to ask the Spirit to guide us: “Where is the vineyard I need to enter, and once there, what work am I being asked to do?”
There is good news here. Jesus does not say that the person who once said “No” is beyond hope. What matters is the willingness to change and then act. The Christian community is not a community of people who have always said and done the right thing. It is a community continually learning to turn around, hear God’s call, and put faith into practice.
The question for us is not simply, “What do we say we believe?” but “What are we doing because we believe it?”
I confess that I do not always pay enough attention to the Responsorial Psalm. So, following the spirit of what I have said above, I would like to stop and reflect on today’s selection from Psalm 25.
The Psalm gives us a prayer that naturally flows from the Ezekiel reading: “Teach me your paths, O Lord… Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God, my Savior.”
The Psalmist does not claim to already know the right path. Instead, the Psalmist asks God to show the way and lead them along it. That is precisely the attitude Ezekiel calls for. Conversion is not simply feeling sorry for the past. It is turning and choosing a new direction.
There is also a beautiful connection in the Psalm’s emphasis on God’s mercy: “Remember that your compassion, O Lord, and your love are from of old.”
Ezekiel’s message might initially sound severe: our choices have consequences. But Psalm 25 shines light on the other side of that message: God is merciful and willing to teach, guide, and forgive. We are never trapped by our past. There is always room to turn around. There is always room to change. And, in the heart of God, there is always room to begin again.
Click here for a link to this Sunday’s readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/092726.cfm
“God makes us courageous people who, by confronting evil, build up the good.”
Pope Leo XIV, April 16, 2026.
Humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but also for those of others. Philippians 2: 3-4
Back in 1987, I had my first intense encounter with a truly financially challenged family when I agreed to re-draw plans for a Habitat for Humanity home to accommodate their family of eight. They were living in a rundown rental house in Wake County that had no running water, a leaking roof, and a single front door. Yet, Dorothy, the mom, had the most expansive, joyful personality. As a mother myself, I don’t know if I could have been so optimistic in her circumstances. She changed the trajectory of my life when I realized that she had the same hopes and dreams for her children as I had for mine. Accompanying others beyond my immediate family brought a joy and fulfillment as a Christian that I could not have imagined.
Actions to bring God’s just kingdom to the world is both an attitude and a practical response based on the principle that everyone should look at another person as another self. Solidarity with others at every level is a way of accomplishing this. Solidarity takes many forms: “solidarity of the poor among themselves, between rich and poor, of workers among themselves, between employers and employees in a business, solidarity among nations and peoples” (CCC, no. 1941).
In the Joy of the Gospel (Evangelii Gaudium, 201), the late Pope Francis echoes this teaching: No one must say that they cannot be close to the poor because their own lifestyle demands more attention to other areas. This is an excuse commonly heard in academic, business or professional, and even ecclesial circles. While it is quite true that the essential vocation and mission of the lay faithful is to strive that earthly realities and all human activity may be transformed by the Gospel, none of us can think we are exempt from concern for the poor and social justice.
Evangelical author Shane Claiborne states, “The great tragedy in the church is not that rich Christians do not care about the poor but that rich Christians do not know the poor.”
Are you a Christian that does not know a poor person? Join one of the social justice ministries at HNOJ Cathedral and be a friend to someone outside your box. It will change the trajectory of your life.
Barbara Molinari Quinby, MPS, Director Office of Human Life, Dignity, and Justice Ministries Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral, Raleigh, NC
Mini-reflections on the Sunday scripture readings designed for persons on the run. “Faith Book” is also brief enough to be posted in the Sunday parish bulletins people take home. From today’s Gospel reading: A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, “Son go out and work in the vineyard today.” He said in reply, “I will not,” but afterwards changed his mind and went. The man came to the other son and gave the same order. He said in reply, “Yes, sir,” but did not go. Which of the two did his father’s will?” They answered, “The first.” Reflection: Did you notice in today’s parable there is no mention of how things turned out when the first son changed his mind and went into the vineyard? How hard of a worker was he when he finally got to the vineyard to work? Did he do what was expected of him? There are no standards or measurements of success laid out for us in this story. The emphasis is just on someone who changed his mind; who in the end, responded to an invitation. Maybe that is what is pleasing to God: our desire to serve and our attempts, if at times feeble, to respond –while we leave plenty of room for God to step in and fill in the gaps. The big ones and the small ones. So we ask ourselves: • Shall we pray today for healing from past hurts caused by those who lied to us or disappointed us? • And shall we ask for the ability to forgive them?
POSTCARDS TO DEATH-ROW INMATES
“One has to strongly affirm that condemnation to the death penalty is an inhuman measure that humiliates personal dignity, in whatever form it is carried out.” ---Pope Francis
Inmates on death row are the most forgotten people in the prison system. Each week I am posting in this space several inmates’ names and locations. I invite you to write a postcard to one or more of them to let them know that: we have not forgotten them; are praying for them and their families; or whatever personal encouragement you might like to give them. If the inmate responds, you might consider becoming pen pals. Please write to:
• Eugene Williams #0441044 (On death row since 5/1/2007) • Byron Waring #1025501 (7/2/2007) • Mario Phillips #0604251 (10/17/2007)
Central Prison PO Box 247, Phoenix MD 21131 (While the prison is in Raleigh mail for inmates is processed at this address)
For more information on the Catholic position on the death penalty go to the Catholic Mobilizing Network: http://catholicsmobilizing.org “First Impressions” is a service to preachers and those wishing to prepare for Sunday worship. It is sponsored by the Dominican Friars. If you would like “First Impressions” sent weekly to a friend, CLICK HERE. If you would like to support this ministry, please send tax deductible contributions to: Fr. Jude Siciliano, OP Holy Rosary Priory 3600 Travis St. Houston, TX 77002-9591
Make checks payable to: Dominican Friars. Or go to our webpage to make a secure online donation: https://www.PreacherExchange.com/donations.htm
(Always includes the 6 latest reflections with the newest first.)
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